The National Security and Defense Council does not prohibit Zelensky to sit down at the negotiating table with Putin – the National Security Committee answered
13 May 18:27
When the United States insists on a one-on-one dialogue between Ukraine and Russia, and Zelenskyy personally summons Putin to Istanbul for a conversation, Russian propaganda demands that the NSDC’s decision to “not negotiate with the Russian president” be canceled. This claim is being actively dispersed in Russian propaganda. However, is the decision really a legal obstacle to negotiations? A member of the National Security Committee explained what is allowed and what is taboo. Read more in the article
The National Security and Defense Council’s political statement of 2022 on the “impossibility of negotiations with the Russian president” does not block a potential dialogue between Ukraine and the Russian dictator. About this in an exclusive commentary
“I don’t see any problems with this issue, because it was a political statement that did not make any negotiations impossible at all. It only emphasized the fact that at that time no one wanted to introduce a language with Putin’s regime,” noted Venislavsky
According to him, geopolitical circumstances have changed now, and a potential meeting between the leaders of Ukraine and Russia is not legally prohibited.
“There are definitely no legal problems here,” said Venislavsky
At the same time, according to the parliamentarian, the formal cancellation of the NSDC decision could look like a softening of the political assessment of the criminal nature of the Russian regime.
“From the point of view of Ukraine, it would be wrong to cancel these decisions. Because, by and large, this is an assessment of the criminality of the Putin regime, but we still have to end the war somehow,” summarized Venislavsky.
What does the Kremlin say about the ban?
In April 2025, the Kremlin said it was waiting for a signal from Ukraine to start peace talks, but pointed to the current ban on such a dialogue. This was announced by Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
“Kyiv must take some action in this regard. They have a legal ban on it. But so far we have not seen any action,” Peskov said
Zelenskyy’s position on negotiations with Putin
Indeed, Ukraine has not changed its position on direct talks with the Russian president – the relevant decision of the National Security and Defense Council remains in force. This was stated by Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga in January. However, this order does not apply to the President of Ukraine.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy previously explained that in 2022 he enacted the NSDC decision on the impossibility of negotiating with Putin to stop separatism, as the Russians were trying to put pressure on Ukraine through “many different corridors” that Ukraine could not control.
“I stopped it quickly, I simply stopped separatism in our country by prohibiting anyone, any political figures in Ukraine, from holding any negotiations with the Russian side, with Putin’s supporters during the war. This was when their (Russian – ed.) troops were here in the Kyiv region. […] So I made an absolutely fair decision. I am the President of Ukraine, I am the leader of certain negotiations, and I forbade everyone else to do so,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy
So, Ukraine has not formally lifted the ban on negotiations with Putin, but this decision is political, not legal. That is, if negotiations are necessary, there are no legal obstacles to Zelenskyy’s participation in them. At the same time, the symbolic value of this document remains high, as it records the political assessment of the regime that unleashed a full-scale war against Ukraine. So Zelenskyy will go to Istanbul for talks, but whether Putin will be afraid is a rhetorical question.
